Master of Strange Dao

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In the two days that followed, everything remained peaceful, and An Yue, the street wanderer, seemed to have quieted down as well.

Yu Ziqing could notice that, although he appeared the same as the previous days, he seemed to have no intention of continuing his investigation.

When meeting people, he would still greet them and chat, but the topics now tended more towards food, and he even shared some snacks he had acquired from somewhere with the villagers.

Even Er Han was willing to chat with him for a bit.

Yu Ziqing knew his feeling was correct; Er Han may look simple-minded, but when it came to certain matters, he was more focused and sensitive than anyone else.

He felt that An Yue had given up after going to the back mountain to check on the elderly who had died.

Yu Ziqing didn't know who Old Yang really was. Old Yang had already said that revealing his own identity could be dangerous, but that didn't stop Yu Ziqing from making his own guesses.

If he were in the shoes of those searching for Old Yang, he wouldn't focus the search on the Wilderness because much time had passed.

At most, to be on the safe side, they would include the Wilderness in their search, and Jinlan Village was just conveniently along the way, to be swept through in routine.

Dawn broke, and today's breakfast was unusually lavish.

Today was the day of delivery, and it was also the day the entire village rested. All the miners didn't have to risk going underground to mine.

Yu Ziqing relaxed a bit too; the oil pressed from Jinlan Mushrooms had passed tests. Several days had passed, and it hadn't produced any toxins or gone bad, so they could afford to make quite a few deep-fried delicacies.

Having succeeded with oil extraction and after pondering for several days, he had extracted starch and made some starch noodles, which also hadn't gone bad.

Squandering the Jinlan Mushrooms to a point where almost only the food value remained, washing away most of the medicinal benefits contained within, had its advantages; the processed noodles, once dried, could be preserved for a very long time without spoiling or producing toxins.

In the outside world, this practice would be condemned, but the villagers loved it immensely—as long as they were full, that was all they cared about.

The exceptionally principled auntie in the kitchen, who would ask for a cooking lesson in exchange for helping with one task, made an on-the-spot promise that from now on, Yu Ziqing wouldn't need to carry Jinlan Mushrooms anymore; had Yu Ziqing not quickly stopped her, he wouldn't even need to do the chopping work.

In the central open space of the village, there was a bustling crowd, a rare lively scene, and some people even used some of the water they were hesitant to waste on a regular day to wash their faces and hair.

Yu Ziqing, as the cook, was incredibly busy, while Er Han squatted to one side, constantly sniffing the delicious aromas with his nose.

The village chief, leaning on a cane, shuffled over, amazed at the large basin of fried delicacies, and his eyes sparkled with joy.

Like the other villagers, he didn't care about the value of the Jinlan Mushrooms; his only concern was that everyone could have a full meal and avoid starvation. This basic need was the most important hope here.

Yu Ziqing was helping them create food that could be stored for a long time with the local resources; how could the village chief look at Yu Ziqing with anything but favor?

"Er Han, you better teach Brother Yu how to practice boxing properly, and strive to get his physique robust quickly. If you slack off, I'll break both your legs," he said.

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"Grandfather, rest assured, rest assured."

Yu Ziqing's face bore a smile as he listened to the father and son's affectionate admonishments, his gaze sweeping across the crowd from time to time.

An Yue was in the crowd, chatting with a group of villagers about something; from a distance, everyone seemed to be having a good time.

The venue bustled with people coming and going, and no one noticed that, at this moment, two new villagers had left the crowd heading toward the burrow; even if someone did see, they wouldn't care.

"Are you sure this will work?" one of the men, thin and sallow-faced, still looked hesitant: "If that Yu guy finds out, he'll definitely turn against us, and the village chief values him highly."

"Do you want to stay here for the rest of your life? Digging mines every day, and if a collapse happens, you could die underground," the other man, his expression fierce, gritted his teeth, barely able to hide his resentment.

"But at least here we can eat our fill. You know what life outside is like. I think it's quite good here, at least we work honestly and no one cheats us out of a bite to eat," the sallow-faced man hesitated.

"What do you know? Haven't you heard what that man said? In his Daqian, it's never cold, and there's so much grain that when the wind blows, it's like a tidal wave; no one starves to death. As long as we can go with him to Daqian, it'll be much better than here. Don't you want to go?"

"I do want to, but I feel what we're doing isn't right."

"So what if we offend? Once we're over there today, we might be able to leave. That man said the fresh mutton he ate in Daqian, just washed with clear water, was the finest delicacy. He never tasted it again after that official trip. Don't you understand what he means?"

"What? He wants us to steal that sheep from Brother Yu?"

"No," the fierce-faced man sneered: "What do you understand? Brother Yu was captured with us, and he wasn't affected by the Evil Skill. That sheep he's raising, eighty percent it's a transformed human. Otherwise, why would he keep it all this time?"

"Uh, I don't understand."

"In the whole village, that's the only sheep still alive. The guy from Daqian hinted to us several times in the past few days, afraid we wouldn't get it. He's also been asking around in a roundabout way. He thinks we're naive because we're inexperienced, but he's looking for someone. Now that he hasn't found anyone, he wants to check if Brother Yu's sheep is the one."

"Did he say he'd take us with him?"

"He didn't say, but will you bet? If you bet, you have a chance to leave and go to Daqian, but if you don't, you'll be mining here for the rest of your life, possibly dying in those mines one day." The fierce-faced man's expression grew more grim, like a gambler who was red in the face, unwilling to let go of even the slightest chance.

"I..."

"If you won't come with me, I'll go alone!" He dropped the sentence and turned to leave.

Seeing the other man walk away, the sallow-faced man hesitated for a moment, then clenched his teeth, stamped his foot, and followed.

The two arrived at Yu Ziqing's burrow. They crawled in to see Old Yang with its hooves curled under its belly, quietly lying on a pile of hay. It slightly opened its eyes, and in the rectangular pupils, the reflections of the men appeared.

The fierce-faced man chuckled as he saw Old Yang, pulling out a belt rope, carefully looping it around Old Yang's neck, acting as though afraid to hurt it. He murmured to himself as he worked.

"Hey, our fate, whether grim or prosperous, whether we get to feast on delicacies, depends entirely on you. If General An is looking for you, then you won't have to suffer here anymore. We brothers have no choice, so please don't take it personally."

The two of them led Old Yang out of their den and along the foot of the mountain, finally arriving where the crowd had gathered.

And there was An Yue, who was having a lively chat with a group of people. He was already beaming, but when he saw the two brothers leading an old sheep, his smile grew even broader.

Off in the distance, Yu Ziqing, who was still cooking, kept glancing over. Seeing that An Yue was still around, he continued to cook. But this time, when he looked up again, he saw two wretched figures leading Old Yang to the site.

Yu Ziqing stiffened as if someone had doused him with a bucket of ice water in the dead of winter, numbing his entire body. Thoughts surged like a landslide and tsunami, assaulting his rationality.

He had carefully calculated, led the other side on a wild goose chase, hoping An Yue would give up searching here. He had never imagined someone would blurt out about the other sheep to An Yue.

It probably reminded An Yue that he hadn't seen Old Yang for several days, sparking a glimmer of suspicion. And even though he had stayed quiet for a couple of days, he waited until it was time to leave before suddenly taking action.

Even if it was just a sheep, he wanted to check it out personally.

If it wasn't what he was looking for, it wouldn't be considered a falling out—just a minor episode that wouldn't affect the subsequent trading or anything else.

But if it was…

"Er Ganzi, I'll fucking kill you, how dare you touch my sheep!"

Yu Ziqing snapped out of his daze and immediately bellowed. Dropping the spatula, he grabbed the Bone Cutting Knife and charged towards them.

The noisy crowd paused slightly, all looking at the two brothers leading Old Yang.

The village chief's smile disappeared in an instant, and his eyes sharpened. He glanced at Er Han beside him and whispered.

"If that An guy dares to make a move, no matter what you do, kill him."

"Got it, Grandpa." Er Han smiled naively and clenched his fist, his knuckles popping audibly.

Seeing Yu Ziqing rushing over, the two brothers quickly moved closer to An Yue.

An Yue also stood up, shouting as he approached.

"What are you doing, give Brother Yu back his sheep quickly!"

In just a moment, An Yue had snatched Old Yang from the brothers' hands, and at first glance, it seemed genuine.

He untied the long belt around Old Yang's neck and his hand brushed against the body of the sheep in a fleeting touch, causing his expression to change slightly, confused.

Old Yang's eyelids drooped indifferently, her rectangular pupils reflecting his image, slowly chewing on a few strands of dry grass.

Immediately, a sense of relief appeared in An Yue's eyes, and he chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

He steadied Old Yang with one hand and looked at the approaching Yu Ziqing, saying with a smile,

"Brother Yu, don't be agitated; it's just a misunderstanding."

With that, he pushed Old Yang towards Yu Ziqing.

Yu Ziqing rushed up and hugged Old Yang tightly, his hand holding the knife trembling.

He was truly ready to kill.

Countless questions flooded his mind, but at that moment, he could only suppress them.

With a dark face and without a word, he took Old Yang and headed back. He had completely lost the appetite and desire to eat his meal.

The follow-up explanations for the misunderstanding were now meaningless. He didn't want to listen. If he stayed any longer, he feared he would reveal more than he intended.

After bringing Old Yang back to their den, the hot blood rushing to Yu Ziqing's head began to fade, turning his complexion somewhat pale.

And Old Yang still looked unaffected.

Er Han followed and stood by, seeing that Yu Ziqing was all right.

When noon had passed, and someone came to call for Er Han, the village chief was looking for him. Only then did Yu Ziqing learn that this round of trading was complete, An Yue had already left, and his tense body finally relaxed. Only then did he feel all his muscles aching and his back soaked with sweat.

He sat on the ground, looking at Old Yang with some confusion.

Old Yang's eyelids sagged, his eyes showing a hint of amusement.

"Didn't I tell you already? There's nothing to worry about."

"How could I have known it would turn out like this…" Yu Ziqing was completely mystified, still not understanding why An Yue, after checking Old Yang, behaved as if nothing was wrong, doing nothing whatsoever.

"Didn't you say I hadn't taught you anything? Now what have you learned?"

"I don't understand; I really don't."

"I have told you before; I now have four stomachs." Old Yang found a comfortable position to lie down and said leisurely, "Do you think those shepherds' third-rate Beast Creation Skill could give me four stomachs? Even if you have never seen the Classics on Beast Creation Skill and never delved into it, haven't you ever considered it?"

"This…" Yu Ziqing was profoundly shocked.

"Remember, the fake will always be fake, no matter how much effort is put into it, it is still fake. Only the real is flawless."